Roman Siulepa's Career Night for Pitt Spoiled by Quinnipiac
PITTSBURGH — There is a reason that Roman Siulepa was looked at as an NBA talent prior to him choosing Pitt over the summer.
The freshman from down under was the main reason that Pitt was able to temporarily fight back from a double-digit second-half Quinnipiac lead but once the Bobcats figured out how to limit his production, their efficient shooting helped them run away with the game in the final minutes.
Siulepa finished as one of the lone bright spots for the Panthers as he scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He added eight rebounds, four steals and an assist in the loss to Quinnipiac.
Not only did the Bobcats spoil Siulepa’s career day, the loss marks a low point for the Pitt men’s basketball program as it is the first loss to a non-power conference opponent since the Panthers lost to Monmouth in December of 2021.
The Panthers started the game out on the right foot as they jumped out to a a 9-4 lead due to a 7-0 scoring run which was capped off on three free throws by Barry Dunning Jr., who started in-place of an injured Brandin Cummings.
That would be the last lead that the Panthers had in the entire game as the Bobcats stormed out on a 20-5 run to lead by the score of 24-14.
The Panthers started to chip away at a 12-point Bobcats’ advantage later in the half as they went on a 9-0 run to cut the score down to 35-31 at the final media stoppage of the half.
Despite the run by Pitt, the Bobcats responded accordingly as they outscored the Panthers 12-6 over the last four minutes to take a double-digit lead into the half.
It appeared as if the Panthers responded well to the halftime adjustments given to them as they went on a 10-0 that was sparked on the back of Siulepa, to cut the Bobcats’ lead back down to three.
After Siulepa’s fourth bucket of the second half, just over six minutes into the closing period, made it just a two-point game, the Bobcats once again responded as a team and fended the Panthers and a momentum shift off.
The Bobcats grew their lead over the next few minutes but some timely threes by Dunning and Omari Witherspoon kept the Panthers within striking distance until Amarri Monroe took over.
If Panthers fans remember the offseason transfer portal saga, Pitt was a heavily interested in Monroe when he entered the portal but after much deliberation, Monroe ultimately returned to Quinnipiac for his senior season.
After Dunning’s third three of the half made it a three-point game with the score 64-61, Monroe grabbed hold of the momentum as on back-to-back possessions he made it to the same spot near the baseline and swished midrange jumpers over Panthers’ defenders.
Monroe’s takeover was followed by an energy-draining three in the corner by Grant Randall as it pushed the Bobcats’ lead to 13 points with just 3:47 left. The 13-point advantage was the biggest by either team in the entire game.
Nojus Indrusaitis tried to will the Panthers back into the game in the final minutes and even got it back to an eight-point game with a minute left but after he was called for a travel, all hopes of a comeback were eliminated.
The road does not get any easier for Pitt as it’s next game is on Friday night against Ohio State followed by a showdown with Texas A&M.
